McKinley's Academy for the Gifted
by VoiceWithoutReason
Summary: You think growing up is hard? Try doing it when the world hates you for existing. ( Rating may change )
1. Chapter 1

**Revised the whole first chapter, changed the whole story. Reviews are appreciated! I'm trying to get better.**

 **Disclaimer; I don't own Glee.**

 **Judy**

"It's not natural, Judy." Russel's voice was hushed but harsh, standing off to the edge of the playground, away from the other parents. His eyes slanted towards his 6-year-old daughter speaking to a neighborhood boy underneath the monkey bars. She twirled the end of her dress as she looked up at the boy. Robert Herman was the snobbishly rich son of one of Russel's acquaintances. The boy carried around his money on the off chance that he'd have the opportunity to brag about his wealth. Judy watched as the boy took out his wallet and handed their daughter a hundred dollar bill with a blank expression. "People are going to start asking questions."

"We've had her tested twice." His wife replied, a shake in her voice. She was afraid. She knew what would happen if Quinn turned out to be one of _them_. Russel wouldn't be able to hush the rumors. If he couldn't keep their reputation clean, he'd get rid of what tarnished it. She watched the exchange between the two closely, silently hoping the older boy would laugh and playfully snatch the money back.

"It looks like she doesn't have any trouble manipulating things in her favor." Russel spoke sharply, the spiteful tone in his voice was obvious as Quinn skipped away happily as Ronald looked after her confused. After a while, something clicked in his expression and he turned to the two older Fabray's, storming towards them with a raged expression. Russel clenched his jaw at this and stepped forward to meet the boy, muttering to his wife, "I put up with _your_ deformities, I'll be damned if my daughter is the same."

"Your kid just hustled me." Ronald's face was red, his chest puffed out. He showed no respect to the older couple, pushing his finger into Russel's chest with the accusation. "Call her over here to give me back my damn money, Russel."

Russel sighed, biting his tongue. Judy knew her husband wanted to deny it and simply brush the boy off but Ronald's father could ruin him. One word to his father and the town would call them thieves or unfit parents, raising a delinquent. He squared his shoulders to give the impression that he had a bit of dignity left and called for his daughter who was showing off her new possession to the other small children. It wasn't like any of them hadn't seen that kind of money before, but it wasn't like their parents actually gave it to them. She bounded over to them with a wide grin, but it melted away as she neared and saw her father's expression.

"Lucy," The older Fabray squatted down to his daughter's height, hand extended. "What have I told you about asking for things?" He mumbled out of ear-shot of Ronald.

Quinn pouted at the hand in front of her, "B-but he gave it to me, Daddy. I didn't…"

"I didn't ask what you said. I asked what I told you."

"No asking for anything." The young girl looked down and whispered her words, placing the bill in her father's hand with hesitation.

"Good girl." He patted her on the head and stood straight, handing the money back to its original owner, "Just a misunderstanding, Ronny. She's sorry."

Ronald snatched the money from Russel, "Ronald. I'm not casual with _thieves_." He growled before stomping off. Russel looked after him with a glare.

"Time to go home." He grabbed Quinn's hand roughly and tugged her towards their car, causing a slight whimper to come from the little girl. Judy scurried to the bench, scooping up their bag and apologizing to the other wives for their abrupt farewell.

* * *

 **Quinn**

"You poor thing…" An 11-year-old Quinn Fabray heard the words mixed with a thick Hispanic accent as she woke up. She blinked a few times to adjust her eyesight to the bright lights of the unfamiliar lobby. A tall figure looked down at her while shaking its head. She sat bolt upright and started to scoot away from the person only to realize that she had been laying on a couch and her back met the arm of the couch. The figure came closer.

"No, no, no. Do not be afraid." His face was still blurry but Quinn could tell that this was the owner of the voice she'd heard moments before. She rubbed her eyes with her fists as she struggled off of the couch. Her instinct to run kicked in as she tried to analyze her surroundings, spotting an open doorway ahead of her. She turned towards the man once again, now seeing him clearly as she backed away towards the doorway. He was really tanned with curly black hair. His hair was sticking up in different directions. It would make sense since he dressed as if he just got out of bed. "I won't hurt you, I promise, Quinn."

"Where am I? How do you know my name?" The little girl backed up until she was sure she would make it to the next room and make a new plan. She turned quickly only to stop mid-run in the middle of the doorway. She couldn't move at all, not even to look to her right. In front of her sat a curly-haired white man. He was standing a few feet away from her with his hand outstretched towards her. She tried to speak but couldn't even move her lips.

"You still want to meet them without me around?" The white man dropped his hand and moved around Quinn, speaking to the Hispanic man. She tried with all of her strength to move but it seemed like she was just tiring herself out.

She took the moment to look at where she was. It looked like a normal living room. A bookcase took up half of the wall ahead of her. A flat screen television hung on the other wall above a fireplace with a fire lit. It had a look of elegance and family with video games littering the floor and long mahogany couches surrounding a coffee table. She felt oddly comfortable in the room, like she was at home. She could barely remember home now.

"I don't approve of this, Will." Carlos replied. "She's probably even more afraid now."

"Well, she would've ran straight out of a window if I weren't here." Quinn heard a few hushed whispers come from behind her then a deep sigh before the two men walked in front of her. Will crouched down to her level like he was inspecting her. "Not a telepath. She would've tried to get in my head by now." He said, glancing at Carlos, "Can't be a physical ability, she would've attacked you when she woke up. She definitely has an ability, and has had it for a while. Artie could sense it."

"It's a surprise she manifested so early." Carlos observed.

She felt like she was on display. She knew this feeling all too well, having been on inspected by various doctors to find out if she was one of _them._ Or how to cure hated it. She couldn't stand it. Will searched her face for a moment longer. "Hey Quinn, we're going to need you to calm down for five minutes." He spoke in a soothing voice, "We promise we aren't going to hurt you. We're trying to help." He waved his hand in front of her face and she dropped her head, finally being able to move it. It was the only thing she could move. She raised it once again to lock eyes with Will. They didn't know what she could do yet, she could tell them to let her go and she'd be free but she was curious. Will was obviously like her so why was she brought here.

"What do you want with me?" She asked. She could hear the exhaust in her own voice from trying to move. "How did you find me?"

"We just want to help." Carlos answered, walking out of her range of sight, "We help children like you. Being alone in the streets isn't safe for any child, let alone a deviant."

"And I found you. There's a deviant here that can track people like us and found you… alone and hiding behind Jerry's Bistro. What were you doing out there anyway? Where are your parents?" Quinn's blood boiled at the mention of her parents. Yeah, like _they'd_ protect her. Will stood straight and was handed something over her head. He placed a steaming mug onto the coffee table and sat on one of the couches. Carlos soon followed and placed two more mugs on the table before turning to the little girl.

"I don't have parents." Quinn spoke in an icy tone. She grew tired of struggling against the position she was stuck in and locked eyes with Will. "Let me go." There was a slight echo in the bass of her voice and the man waved his hand with a blank expression. Quinn's body resumed running before she stopped and turned to the men. "I was perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you."

Carlos raised an impressed eyebrow. "Persuasive, aren't you?" He laughed and picked up a mug to offer Quinn. "Chamomile Tea?" The little girl looked at him skeptically, rolling her eyes at the man before accepting the mug. "And powerful." He snapped his fingers in front of Will's face which stared out blankly. "At such a young age, you should be proud of yourself."

"I'm too busy running to be proud of what's making me a target." Quinn walked to the nearest window, taking a sip of the tea and relaxing. It had been so long since she enjoyed something warm and fresh. She glanced outside to see five buildings facing them. Her last stop was somewhere in the south so it surprised her to see small snowflakes decorating the air. "Where am I?"

"New York." Carlos answered. She could feel his gaze watching her every step. Quinn turned to him. "How old are you?" He asked. Quinn looked hesitant.

"Eleven and three quarters." She said, bringing her mug to her lips. It took her a while to remember her age. It had been years since she'd celebrated it. It didn't even seem like a real thing to have a birthday anymore. She lowered her gaze to the ground.

"You seem much older." Carlos commented, sitting on the coffee table.

"When you don't have parents to protect you from the bad in the world, you grow up much faster." The girl gazed out the window and yawned, watching the snow build on the ground. The cackle of the fireplace filled the silence between the two until Will snapped out of his daze.

"Wha- She-"Quinn smirked as he tried to tie together a sentence, looking at the two in changed positions. "What?" Carlos laughed, patting Will on the shoulder.

"Your services are no longer need, Will." He said, standing the other man up and leading him to the door. It was the first time he'd taken his eyes off of Quinn since she could move. She could leave while he's distracted. She could've left while they were talking. She took a small sip of her tea as the two men exchanged hushed words before Will left.

"What is this place?" She asked as the door shut after Will.

"An academy. For Deviants." Carlos answered, smiling softly at the girl. "It's late, you should get some sleep. I presume it's been a while since you've slept somewhere warm." Quinn looked down, not answering.

"We have a guest bedroom upstairs. First door to the left. My daughter slept in it last night so I apologize if it's a bit messy. Come up whenever you want." He turned to walk up the stairs but paused. Quinn glanced up at him. "Hopefully, you will stay until morning. We'd love to have you join us."

Quinn turned her gaze back to the window, staring outside for a while. She heard Carlos' footsteps fade upstairs. She was tired. Not just from not sleeping but of running. She was tired of sleeping in motels and persuading people to let her sleep in their house only to be ran off in the morning. She placed her mug on the coffee table and contemplated her choices. She could leave now or sleep in a place where they're fully aware she's there. There were also other kids like her here. She looked toward the back door once more before walking up the stairs to the guest room.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I'm Soo bad with keeping up. Sorry about the delay! Reviews are appreciated!**_

 **Quinn**

Big chocolate brown eyes. Very _close_ big chocolate brown eyes staring at her.

That was the first thing Quinn saw when she opened her eyes. Her first instinct was to immediately fight off the intruder but the person on top of her had her pinned down.

It was a little girl, not much older than herself. Her skin was a rich caramel color and her face had small scratches scattered around, complete with a Band-Aid decorating just beneath her eye. She had long, black hair that cascaded down and was used as a curtain surrounding their faces.

Quinn opened her mouth to protest but a small hand clamped over her mouth. The girl's eyes went wide and she let out a high pitched scream as Quinn's teeth sunk into her palm in reaction. The blonde took the moment of surprise and pushed the other girl off of her and on the floor with a dull thump. Footsteps were heard clambering down the hall quickly and Carlos burst through the door with a woman at his side looking panicked.

"Santana!" The woman pushed past Carlos to kneel beside the fallen girl, who was cradling her hand to her chest and looked like she was trying hard not to cry.

"Mamí, she… _attacked_ me!" Santana growled angrily, pointing a finger to Quinn. She quickly jumped to sit up on the bed to defend herself.

"She's lying! I was sleeping and this _creep_ was on me, watching me!" The blonde exclaimed, clenching her fists as she hopped off the bed to advance on Santana. The Latina didn't back down and pushed away from her mother's arms, balling up her uninjured hand into a fist.

Quinn was so close to swinging on the other girl but a strong pair of arms scooped her up from behind and away from Santana. She kicked away from Carlos to no use.

"I see you've met my daughter. Quinn, this is Santana." Quinn only tried to fight away from Carlos once again but the man held on tightly. "Maribel, take Santana downstairs, we'll be down shortly." The woman nodded and picked up the younger Latina and walked out of the room. Carlos let Quinn down.

"I swear, she started it!" Quinn immediately defended herself. She didn't want to admit it but she actually enjoyed staying the night. She wasn't in a rush to be kicked out because some creepy kid decided to intrude on her.

"I believe you, Quinn. Santana has a bit of an anger problem." Carlos sighed with a shrug, walking over to the covered window to pull back the curtains, letting the bright sunlight shine through. "Now, breakfast is ready and there are some clothes that'll fit you in the closet." He smiled before leaving the room.

* * *

Once Quinn took a shower and got dressed in a worn out pink sweater and black jeans, she made her way downstairs where everyone was already seated. Immediately, she locked eyes with Santana. The girl rolled her eyes as soon as she saw Quinn. The table was covered with food, like something out of a movie. There was pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, fruits, and a pitcher of orange juice. Carlos sat at the head. Santana sat to the right of him and Maribel on the left.

Quinn noticed a boy sitting on the other side of Santana. His skin was tan but not as dark as the rest of the family's and he had medium length brown hair. Like Santana, he had multiple scratches on his face and a bandage stuck to his forehead. He wore a black muscle shirt that didn't show anything off. She would've assumed he was Santana's brother but none of his features matched Carlos' or Maribel's.

She took a seat at the opposite end of the table, next the boy, who was too busy noisily eating his piled up plate of food to notice her. Her plate was already filled with two pancakes, five strips of bacon and eggs. The table still had plates full if she wanted more.

"Noah." Carlos cleared his throat at the boy beside Quinn. He looked up with bacon grease and syrup surrounding his lips, a confused expression on his face when he saw the newly added blonde. "This is Quinn. She arrived last night and we're hoping to enroll her." The boy nodded and wiped his hand on the front of his shirt and reached it out to her. She cautiously shook it.

"I'm Puck." He said, grinning with his teeth exposed.

"He's Noah." The annoyed voice of Santana piped up. Noah, or Puck, huffed and looked back to his plate.

"Jeez, San, if you keep telling people that, it'll never catch on."

"Yeah, well if you keep telling people that, they're going to think you're stupid." Quinn could see it wasn't just her who got the bad side of Santana's personality. Puck's face balled up like he wanted to say something but didn't have a good comeback so he just angrily bit into another piece of bacon.

Quinn remained quiet a while after their little argument and picked at her food. This feeling- this environment was foreign to her. Arguments that didn't end in storming off or a fight, food presented to her without being asked, or her presence being acknowledged just weren't things that she would experience.

It was the most welcome she'd felt in the last 5 years. It was probably longer than that since her parents abandoned her. So, maybe this was the most welcome she has felt throughout her entire life; it was nice.

The remainder of breakfast went by quickly. Santana and Puck butt heads more than once, and by the amused looks on Maribel and Carlos' faces, it was a normal occurrence. At one point, Santana addressed Quinn (only to have someone agree how stupid a name like Puck was; how they got back to that topic was beyond her) and to her surprise, she laughed. It was almost like a normal family event.

As Maribel gathered up the dirty dishes and the other two children gathered their things for class, Carlos addressed Quinn.

"McKinley is a safe place for Deviants. That feeling you have right now? It's what you can feel everyday if you stay here." Quinn raised in eyebrow as to how he knew what she felt. He chuckled, "Empathy. As I said, this is a safe place for us. For our students, we provide meals, a dorm, a courtyard, and basic education along with quality training. We teach you how to control your ability and grow it."

"What do you mean grow?" The girl asked curiously.

"Our abilities, we're able to grow them. Make them better." He explained, "It's much like levels, as we become more in control of them, the more they advance. As a boy, I could only feel emotions through physical contact. Now, I am able to extend my own emotions to others… but through physical contact. I still have some growing to do."

"What else would I be able to do when my power grows?"

"Well, you have a mental ability. How it advances can be completely different than what we expect." Quinn nodded. Santana hopped back into the kitchen to press a kiss to her father's cheek and grab a pink book bag from the living room. Puck grabbed the black one next to it.

"See you later, Papí." She called to him on her way out the front door, swinging her bag over her shoulder. The older Lopez watched after her.

"Have a good day, Mija." He waved them out the door.

"What can they do?" Quinn asked as she watched Puck closed the door behind them.

"Santana is a telepath. She developed early, much like yourself, but she is still struggling with it." He sighed, "Puck's ability hasn't manifested."

"So what does he do while everybody else grows their powers?"

"Those whose abilities has not manifested train as any other student without specific goals to meet. He trains to heighten his normal physical, mental, and emotional states. Once a month, we put the of age students who have not yet discovered their deviation in extreme situations, hoping it would trigger their manifestation." Carlos shook his head with a slight chuckle, "That method was brought to us by our very passionate coach."

Quinn looked down at the bare table. It seemed like a nice set up. Her gaze shifted to the window. There were kids out now, each going into one of the five buildings facing Carlo's home. Some were horsing around with their peers. She spotted a flame spouting from the hand of a particularly lanky boy and watched as Santana and Puck joined up with the group currently surrounding him for warmth. She felt her lips tug into a smile, a small flicker of hope igniting in her that she could be a part of that group. She hid the smile quickly and turned her head back to Carlos, who wore a knowing smirk.

"Will I have to room with your daughter? I'm not sure how much I liked my wake-up call this morning." The man gave a grateful grin before laughing that hearty laugh only fathers seem to be able to conjure. He got up from his spot and Quinn did the same. Carlos placed his hand on her shoulder as he led her into the second half of the house which held the administration office.

"Let's get you a schedule."


End file.
